Stayner Richards
Born: 20 December 1885
Called as Assistant to the Twelve: 6 October 1951
Died: 28 May 1953
Called as Assistant to the Twelve: 6 October 1951
Died: 28 May 1953
Biographical Articles
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 4
Improvement Era, July 1953, Elder Stayner Richards - 1885-1953
Relief Society Magazine, August 1953, In Memoriam - Elder Stayner Richards
Improvement Era, July 1953, Elder Stayner Richards - 1885-1953
Relief Society Magazine, August 1953, In Memoriam - Elder Stayner Richards
Jenson, Andrew. "Richards, Stayner." Biographical Encyclopedia. Volume 4. pg. 477.
RICHARDS, Stayner, second counselor in the Granite Stake presidency, Utah, from 1928 to 1930, was born Dec. 20, 1885, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a son of Stephen L. Richards and Emma Louise Stayner. He was baptized Feb. 5, 1898, was ordained an Elder, filled a mission to Great Britain in 1908-1910, was ordained a High Priest Feb. 24, 1914, by George F. Richards, and sustained as Bishop of the Highland Park Ward Dec. 3, 1916. He presided over the ward till 1928, when he was called to serve as second counselor in the Stake presidency.
RICHARDS, Stayner, second counselor in the Granite Stake presidency, Utah, from 1928 to 1930, was born Dec. 20, 1885, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a son of Stephen L. Richards and Emma Louise Stayner. He was baptized Feb. 5, 1898, was ordained an Elder, filled a mission to Great Britain in 1908-1910, was ordained a High Priest Feb. 24, 1914, by George F. Richards, and sustained as Bishop of the Highland Park Ward Dec. 3, 1916. He presided over the ward till 1928, when he was called to serve as second counselor in the Stake presidency.
"Elder Stayner Richards - 1885-1953." Improvement Era. July 1953. pg. 498.
Elder Stayner Richards 1885-1953
Church membership the world over was saddened Thursday, May 28, to learn of the sudden death of Elder Stayner Richards, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve. He had been in southern California the weekend of May 24, where he represented the General Authorities at the quarterly conference of the San Fernando Stake, and was taken seriously ill on the train as he returned home. He was rushed to the hospital, where his illness was diagnosed as inflammation of the pancreas gland.
Elder Richards, who was sustained as an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve during the October conference of 1951, had long been a power for good in the Church. He answered a call to labor as a missionary in the British Isles in 1908. He served as a member of the bishopric of the Sugar House Ward, and when the Highland Park Ward was created in December 1916, he was ordained to preside as bishop of the ward. There he served until 1928, when he was called as a counselor in the Granite Stake presidency.
With the organization of the Highland Stake in September 1936 he was called as a member of that stake's high council. In 1937 he was set apart as president of the Highland Stake of Zion, where he served until December 1949, when he was called as president of the British Mission. In the fall of 1951, he returned to Salt Lake City, following the sudden death of his son, Robert Stayner Richards. While here, he was sustained at the October conference as an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve. He soon returned to his labors - in Europe, where as president of the British Mission, he made many of the arrangements for the visit of President David O. McKay to Europe during the summer of 1952. His mission completed, he returned to Salt Lake City to take up his duties in the Church Offices.
He was an able speaker, and those who listened caught his enthusiasm in the work and the labor of the restored gospel.
He was born in Salt Lake City December 20, 1885, a son of Dr. Stephen L. and Emma Louise Stayner Richards. He was one of ten brothers and sisters. His elder brother is President Stephen L Richards of the First Presidency. Elder Stayner Richards was a member of the University of Utah graduating class of 1907. As a student body officer that year, he participated in the construction of the block "U" on the hillside near the campus, which has become a landmark in the valley, and has been copied by many universities and colleges throughout the land.
Elder Richards married Jane Foote Taylor on December 20, 1910. They were the parents of three sons and three daughters. Sister Richards and their five children survive him, as do three brothers, one sister, and fifteen grandchildren.
Funeral services for Elder Richards were held in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square, June 3. The services were conducted by President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. of the First Presidency. Speakers included Bishop Sterling H. Nelson of the South Highland Park Ward, a long-time friend and associate of Elder Richards; Elder Hugh B. Brown, with whom Elder Richards served as a counselor in the Granite Stake presidency and former president of the British Mission; Elder George Q. Morris, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve; Elder LeGrand Richards of the Council of the Twelve; and President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. President McKay was in Washington, D. C, attending a conference of the U. S. State Department as an invited guest. He had written a letter of tribute to Elder Richards, which President Clark read at the funeral.
Elder Stayner Richards 1885-1953
Church membership the world over was saddened Thursday, May 28, to learn of the sudden death of Elder Stayner Richards, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve. He had been in southern California the weekend of May 24, where he represented the General Authorities at the quarterly conference of the San Fernando Stake, and was taken seriously ill on the train as he returned home. He was rushed to the hospital, where his illness was diagnosed as inflammation of the pancreas gland.
Elder Richards, who was sustained as an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve during the October conference of 1951, had long been a power for good in the Church. He answered a call to labor as a missionary in the British Isles in 1908. He served as a member of the bishopric of the Sugar House Ward, and when the Highland Park Ward was created in December 1916, he was ordained to preside as bishop of the ward. There he served until 1928, when he was called as a counselor in the Granite Stake presidency.
With the organization of the Highland Stake in September 1936 he was called as a member of that stake's high council. In 1937 he was set apart as president of the Highland Stake of Zion, where he served until December 1949, when he was called as president of the British Mission. In the fall of 1951, he returned to Salt Lake City, following the sudden death of his son, Robert Stayner Richards. While here, he was sustained at the October conference as an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve. He soon returned to his labors - in Europe, where as president of the British Mission, he made many of the arrangements for the visit of President David O. McKay to Europe during the summer of 1952. His mission completed, he returned to Salt Lake City to take up his duties in the Church Offices.
He was an able speaker, and those who listened caught his enthusiasm in the work and the labor of the restored gospel.
He was born in Salt Lake City December 20, 1885, a son of Dr. Stephen L. and Emma Louise Stayner Richards. He was one of ten brothers and sisters. His elder brother is President Stephen L Richards of the First Presidency. Elder Stayner Richards was a member of the University of Utah graduating class of 1907. As a student body officer that year, he participated in the construction of the block "U" on the hillside near the campus, which has become a landmark in the valley, and has been copied by many universities and colleges throughout the land.
Elder Richards married Jane Foote Taylor on December 20, 1910. They were the parents of three sons and three daughters. Sister Richards and their five children survive him, as do three brothers, one sister, and fifteen grandchildren.
Funeral services for Elder Richards were held in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square, June 3. The services were conducted by President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. of the First Presidency. Speakers included Bishop Sterling H. Nelson of the South Highland Park Ward, a long-time friend and associate of Elder Richards; Elder Hugh B. Brown, with whom Elder Richards served as a counselor in the Granite Stake presidency and former president of the British Mission; Elder George Q. Morris, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve; Elder LeGrand Richards of the Council of the Twelve; and President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. President McKay was in Washington, D. C, attending a conference of the U. S. State Department as an invited guest. He had written a letter of tribute to Elder Richards, which President Clark read at the funeral.
Morris, George Q. "In Memoriam - Elder Stayner Richards." Relief Society Magazine. August 1953. pg. 510-511.
In Memoriam—Elder Stayner Richards
(Dec. 20, 1885 - May 28, 1953)
Elder George Q. Morris
Assistant to the Council of the Twelve
ELDER Stayner Richards had in a marked degree those qualities that the Lord said qualified one who embarked in his service: "Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence." Through his long years of devotion to the Church, continuing from his youth to ripened and matured manhood, these qualities were abundantly manifest. Eminently successful in business, he put his duty to God first. How rewarding and enriching this practice proved is apparent in the outstanding qualities of spirituality and leadership he attained.
In all he was faithful, resourceful, stimulating, and inspiring—as bishop's counselor, as bishop, for twelve years as counselor to a stake president, as stake president for twelve years, as President of the British Mission, and as Assistant to the Council of the Twelve, he forwarded the interests of the Church, blessed and cheered and helped towards perfection the many thousands with whom he was associated.
He was richly endowed with the power to implant in the hearts of the people cheer, good will, faithfulness, and love. These qualities flowed from him as from a fountain. They were contagious. He loved people old and young. For the children he met, out of his heart or out of his pocket, he gave them something that made them happy and gave them friendship. The people to whom he devoted his labors gladly accepted his counsel and direction and gave him their admiration and love. One said of him:
"There are great characters in the world whom we admire and revere for their remarkable accomplishments, but there are not many men that we can love so dearly and sincerely."
Perhaps his crowning achievement was in his own home. He has given to the Church and the world, in his family, a rich and enduring gift. They will bear his name in honor through the generations to come.
His life's work logically and appropriately culminated in his calls to preside over the British Mission and to be an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve. In these positions he served with marked distinction.
President McKay said of his passing: ''There passed to the great beyond a loving husband, a devoted father, a true friend, a valiant defender of the truth. Brother Stayner was a true gentleman, honest in thought and action—cheerful, kind, considerate, obliging at all times, constantly loyal to truth and to what he believed was right.''
In Memoriam—Elder Stayner Richards
(Dec. 20, 1885 - May 28, 1953)
Elder George Q. Morris
Assistant to the Council of the Twelve
ELDER Stayner Richards had in a marked degree those qualities that the Lord said qualified one who embarked in his service: "Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence." Through his long years of devotion to the Church, continuing from his youth to ripened and matured manhood, these qualities were abundantly manifest. Eminently successful in business, he put his duty to God first. How rewarding and enriching this practice proved is apparent in the outstanding qualities of spirituality and leadership he attained.
In all he was faithful, resourceful, stimulating, and inspiring—as bishop's counselor, as bishop, for twelve years as counselor to a stake president, as stake president for twelve years, as President of the British Mission, and as Assistant to the Council of the Twelve, he forwarded the interests of the Church, blessed and cheered and helped towards perfection the many thousands with whom he was associated.
He was richly endowed with the power to implant in the hearts of the people cheer, good will, faithfulness, and love. These qualities flowed from him as from a fountain. They were contagious. He loved people old and young. For the children he met, out of his heart or out of his pocket, he gave them something that made them happy and gave them friendship. The people to whom he devoted his labors gladly accepted his counsel and direction and gave him their admiration and love. One said of him:
"There are great characters in the world whom we admire and revere for their remarkable accomplishments, but there are not many men that we can love so dearly and sincerely."
Perhaps his crowning achievement was in his own home. He has given to the Church and the world, in his family, a rich and enduring gift. They will bear his name in honor through the generations to come.
His life's work logically and appropriately culminated in his calls to preside over the British Mission and to be an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve. In these positions he served with marked distinction.
President McKay said of his passing: ''There passed to the great beyond a loving husband, a devoted father, a true friend, a valiant defender of the truth. Brother Stayner was a true gentleman, honest in thought and action—cheerful, kind, considerate, obliging at all times, constantly loyal to truth and to what he believed was right.''